Tree House
by kryss-delrhei
Summary: COMPLETE. TerraVentus. One-Shot. It's always nice to have a special spot one can go to.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor the characters, just borrowing them from Square-Enix for a little while.

**Dedication:** To my beta, Leatherclad Lovely, for helping with fleshing a little bit of it out.

**Notes:** Something sweet and cute that I just happened to write, because I was going through my writing journal and decided to clear it out of unwritten shorts. Hope you enjoy.

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**Tree House  
**by Kryss Del'Rhei

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The grove was filled with sharp sounds of slapping wood as the two combatants sparred off with each other, both covered in a heavy sheen of sweat, their shirts having been tossed away forgotten.

"You're getting faster."

The words were followed by a cocky smirk and a whirlwind of movements as the two engaged each other more fiercely, their wooden swords smacking harshly together. Ventus parried Terra's attack that would have ended up with him flat on his rump had he not struck the blow aside and back somersaulted out of the way before Terra had recovered.

"Add more agile to the list," Ventus chimed up as he opened his stance wide and spun his wooden sword in his hand, lowering his body down as he readied his next moves.

Terra let out a stark laugh, rolling his shoulders back, a hand running through his damp hair, "I'll let you have this match," he chuckled, tossing Ventus another one of his trademark grins as he went to gather his discarded shirt, "It's getting dark and Master Eraqus will start worrying if we're not at the castle soon."

"But we were just getting into it!" Ventus almost whined, grumbling to himself as he straightened his back, lowering his sword to his side.

The brunette made a small snort of laughter under his breath as he shrugged his shirt over his head, turning to face his sparring partner, "And the whole point of sparring is to warm up," he opined, tugging his shirt in order.

Ventus gave him a full pout and crossed his arms, defiantly chewing on the inside of his cheek to stifle the rude comments he was sure to be thinking. All Terra could do was chuckle at the blond as he walked past him, ruffling his damp hair, "It's not so bad Ven, we'll go at it some more tomorrow. You still have to get better if you're even going to start sparring with Master Eraqus."

The boy grumbled a little more, shrugging off Terra's hand, "I don't understand why I have to keep waiting around."

"He just wants you to get a little better," Terra smiled softly tersely, his stare full of forced persuasion as he patted Ventus' head against the boy's will.

"But you and Aqua have been practicing with the Master since you were younger than I am now!" Ventus grumbled, his pout becoming far more childish as he stormed away from Terra's side.

"Ven, it's not like that," Terra chided, rolling his eyes as he crossed his arms.

"It sure looks like that," Ventus grumbled under his breath as he slowed his pace, the tree line of the grove creating a make-shift barrier. He sighed loudly, making a show of his annoyance as he trailed his eyes around his surroundings.

"What is that?" he paused, pointing to a set of makeshift steps that were climbing the height of the tree trunk, disappearing into the foliage overhead.

Terra walked to him and shrugged a little, his stern posture relaxing, "That?"

"Yes, that," Ventus grunted in aggravation.

The brunette hid his grin for as long as he could before it danced across his face, his eyes sparkling, "A ladder."

"To what?" Ventus said deadpan.

Terra's grin grew only larger, "A tree house."

"A tree house?"

"Yes," Terra licked his dry lips and shifted his weight to his other foot, staring the blonde down with a calm gaze.

Ventus mulled over the thought of a tree house, "How long has it been there?'

"A few years now," Terra replied.

"And you never… oh say… thought to mention it to me?" The boy tilted his head, the smart retort coming out of his mouth as he crossed his arms.

Terra cleared his throat from a choked laugh, "Not really."

"What's it doing there?" Ventus raised a brow.

Terra rolled his eyes and shoved at Ventus' shoulder, "This twenty questions or something?"

Ventus' lips turned into a small pout as he crossed his arms again, "You didn't answer me."

The brunette released a exasperated sigh and grabbed the boy's shoulder leading him towards the tree that had the make-shift ladder trailing upward along the trunk, "I built it," Terra grinned, his eyes following the array of steps, "Well, _Aqua_ and _I_, built it to be exact."

Ventus' mouth opened as he mumbled, "Oh," as he followed the ladder upward with his eyes.

The grove fell into a quiet hush except for the birds hidden in the foliage that sang their lovely songs. Terra patted his friend's shoulder and shoved him forward to the ladder, breaking the silence between the two of them, "Why don't you climb up and check it out?"

Ventus stuttered and caught himself from stumbling and falling face first into the scattered leaf covered ground, "What?"

"You heard me," Terra grinned and pointed upward, "Go check it out."

The blonde stared at Terra before turning, grabbing hold of one of the steps, "Fine," he called out as he climbed the make-shift ladder. Terra followed after him, grinning the whole way up.

"It's not much," Terra spoke up, "We haven't even been out here in years."

"Why is that?" Ventus mumbled, his focus strained to not letting his foot slip and send them tumbling to the ground.

"Just haven't," Terra's voice had grown soft, "You'll have to push open the hatch at the top."

"Kay," Ventus climbed up, seeing the bottom boards of the tree house above his head. He palmed the wooden door with one hand, holding onto the ladder as he pushed the hatch door up and over. It slammed onto the wood of the floor as he climbed the rest of the way into the tree house, Terra following shortly after.

"Wow!" the blonde chirped, his gaze tracing over the interior as Terra replaced the hatch of the door.

"You like it?" Terra asked, standing and brushing his hands off on his knees, "- ofph - Guess I've gotten taller," he laughed, rubbing his head as he slouched a little as not to knock himself out on the low ceiling.

Ventus chuckled lightly and sat down on the hard floor, "I like it a lot!" he exclaimed, excitement twinkling his gaze.

"I'm glad," Terra sat down across from him, noticing that the sun's rays had started to fade, casting the room of the tree house into a pale darkness. He glanced over to Ventus, still able to make out the blonde features in the dim light. "Hey, Ven?"

"Yeah Terra?" Ventus smiled at his friend.

Terra rubbed the back of his neck, shrugging a little, "If you want… you could come here any time," he paused and gauged Ventus' expression, seeing how it was one of surprise and absolute glee, he continued, "I don't think Aqua would mind much, but you're welcome to make this your spot too."

The blonde whooped with joy and tossed an excited look around the interior of the tree house again, "I'd like that a whole lot Terra!"

"Good," Terra laughed and stood this time ducking his head before he nailed himself in the skull on the wood again, "Cause it's dark and Master Eraqus is already going to be furious as it is."

Ventus whined a little under his breath as he scooted across the floor to the hatch, feeling around for the handle in the dim light, "Alright," he pouted a little, "Can I come back tomorrow?"

"Of course," Terra piped up as he started to descend the ladder, Ventus grinning the whole time, "Make sure you close the hatch!"

"I will, I will!" Ventus called out, hearing Terra's feet plop to the ground. He looked around one last time, smiling before crawling down the ladder, closing the hatch after him, "Thanks again, Terra!"

Terra laughed, "Hurry up!"

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**End Note:** 1,301 words.


End file.
